(Lowell) “I am proud to have played for the Montreal team,” breathed Ann-Renée Desbiens, before her voice cracked and two tears slowly ran down her cheeks.
At her side, her head coach Kori Cheverie still had red eyes from crying after the match, at the end of which the Montrealers lost by a score of 3-2 in overtime against the Bostonians.
They were therefore eliminated from the playoffs of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF).
So it was here, in Lowell, a 30-minute drive from Boston, that a season that was both short and filled with historic moments ended.
“I’m just proud to have been part of this team,” said Sarah Lefort, with a low expression. “I’m proud of every teammate, whether they’re on the ice or injured. I think we brought a very good product on the ice throughout the season. Unfortunately, this is not the result we wanted today. »
It must be said that until the third period, there was no indication that Montreal would be on vacation when leaving the Tsongas Center on Tuesday evening…
Kori Cheverie’s squad outrageously dominated Boston in the first two thirds. She took a 2-0 lead, courtesy of Marie-Philip Poulin and Maureen Murphy. By the time the third period began, Montreal had thrown 25 times towards Aerin Frankel – as imperial as ever – and Boston, 11 times towards Ann-Renée Desbiens.
PHOTO MARK STOCKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marie-Philip Poulin (29) celebrates her goal scored in the first period.
As if running out of energy, the visitors slowed down the pace in the third period, while the locals began to insist more offensively. In the middle of the period, Sophie Shirley reduced the gap by cutting into the net. She slipped the puck between the post and Desbiens’ right arm.
With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Amanda Pelkey was left completely alone at the blue line as Montreal played on the power play. Taking great care to avoid offside, she came alone in front of Desbiens and beat her with a wrist shot from the blocker’s side to make it 2-2.
“They made a sneaky change on the penalty kill, which allowed them to sneak behind our group,” summarized Cheverie about this equalizing goal.
In overtime, Boston only needed a minute to score; the work of Susanna Tapani, who jumped on a return throw from Alina Müller.
PHOTO MARK STOCKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Susanna Tapani (88) scored the winning goal.
Thus ended the first chapter of the Montreal team. The first chapter of a book that we hope will be long.
Tiredness ?
The Montreal players played a lot, a lot of hockey over the last week. Remember that the first two duels also ended in overtime. The second lasted a total of 111 minutes and 44 seconds. It takes a long time – even longer when, after so much effort, your team comes home empty-handed.
Some players, like Erin Ambrose, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey or Kristin O’Neill, received excessive playing time in the series. Tuesday, especially in the third period, we felt the team was a little out of breath. As if the legs no longer followed.
Asked about this, Ann-Renée Desbiens refused to blame fatigue.
I wouldn’t say we were tired. I think we did a good job of recovering, coming back. We had an excellent start to the match, an excellent second period. We were there. We perhaps tried too hard in the second half; Maybe that’s what cost us the game. But it’s definitely not a lack of recovery. I am very proud of what the girls accomplished today.
Ann-Renée Desbiens
Cheverie, for its part, preferred not to dwell too much on its workforce management.
“I think in the 12 periods we played, we probably got the better of them in 10 periods. It wasn’t enough. »
A different disappointment
Although it was still too early, after the match, to evaluate the season, Kori Cheverie said she was proud of the effort made by her players.
“I think it’s important for our group to know how well they played in the last three games. It’s okay to feel the emotions, it’s important,” said the head coach.
Probably everyone is blaming themselves right now. Could I have done this, or that? Ultimately, no. (…) I think there are several things we can be proud of. I think we especially need to give ourselves some love right now.
Corey Cheverie
At 30 years old, Ann-Renée Desbiens is not the first disappointment in her career. This disappointment nevertheless has something “different”.
“You spend the entire season with these girls. It was an inaugural season. There were ups, downs, things that were successful, things to improve. You go through these things with every girl in the locker room, every staff member. It’s different from a short-term tournament.
“We will take the time to think about what worked, what needs to be improved, and we will continue to work for next year. »
So let’s see you next year.
In details
Little atmosphere in Lowell
The Boston team doesn’t quite play in Boston, contrary to what its name suggests. His home is located about fifty kilometers away, in Lowell. The team plays in the University of Massachusetts River Hawks arena, the Tsongas Center, which has a capacity of 6,500 spectators for hockey games. On Tuesday, the amphitheater, although pretty, was not even half full; 2781 people attended the duel. The atmosphere was not at all comparable to that of Place Bell, where the first two games of the series took place. It must be said, however, that it was a Tuesday and that the Bruins, as well as the Red Sox, were playing a few kilometers away…
A Bostonian named
The LPHF announced before the match the names of the three players nominated for the rookie of the year title. They had to be 25 years old or younger when starting their first professional season. No Montrealer is among them, but a Bostonian, Alina Müller, is in the mix, along with forwards Emma Maltais, from Toronto, and Grace Zumwinkle, from Minnesota. It was Müller who was behind Boston’s winning goal on Tuesday. She beat Amanda Boulier before firing a wrist shot. Susanna Tapani then jumped on the return to give victory to the locals. During the season, Müller was her team’s top scorer with 16 points, including 5 goals, in 24 games. The winners will be announced in June, along with those of the five other end-of-season trophies.
Five in five
PHOTO MARK STOCKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ann-Renée Desbiens
You have to believe that Boston is Ann-Renée Desbiens’s bête noire. Including the matches of the season, the Quebecer has kept the goals against this team five times this year. However, the Montrealers did not win any of these matches. Obviously, Desbiens is not the only reason for this defeat. In three playoff games, she blocked 95 shots and allowed 7 goals.
Rising
Mikyla Grant-Mentis
Promoted to the first trio, she executed a perfect play to allow Marie-Philip Poulin to score Montreal’s first goal.
Falling
Amanda Boulier
She made several defensive errors. It was she who was beaten by Alina Müller, whose shot led to the winning goal.
The number of the match
141
That’s the total number of shots blocked by Boston goalie Aerin Frankel in three games. She only allowed four goals.